Clasp for golf bags



Jam. l0, W39. F. H. BORM CLASP FOR GOLF BAGS Filed Feb. 17, 1936 Patented Jan. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to golf bags and more especially to improved means for securing the various clubs in golf bags.

Golf bags as at present designed possess a number of important disadvantages, among which are the disorderly arrangement by which the clubs are piled or stacked in a bag such that unnecessary wear on the clubs results from rubbing together, lacings being worn through; the danger of one or more clubs` slipping out of the bag and becoming lost; in addition to the fact that the club most usually desired to be withdrawn is at or near the bottom of the group, the clubs often becoming entangled. It is in order to overcome the foregoing and other objections that the prescnt invention has been developed and perfected.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a simple, practical, and inexpensive device of the character described.

Another object is to provide improved golf club bag construction.

A further object is to provide a golf bag wherein the clubs are secured yet are each readily removable therefrom.

An additional object is to provide an improved golf bag wherein minimum wear on the clubs and bag will result.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view partly in section of a golf bag embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top sectional view taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a partial View taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing the detailed structure of one oi the securing elements in open position and with a portion of the supporting structure removed;

Fig. 4 is a similar view to Fig. 3 but in closed position, taken along the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, showing in addition a portion of one of the club shanks secured therein;

Fig. 5 is an end view partly in section of the subject matter o1" Fig. 4, taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a separate view of one of the supporting members forming a part of the locking unit.

Referring more particularly tol the drawing I show the usual golf bag i@ having an inner compartment a base i2, and an open top I3. Approximately adjacent the top opening I3 a metallic ring lll is provided and suitably secured to the top portion I3 of the bag. Disposed about the inner periphery of the ring i4 is a plurality of club locking units designated generally by I5. Each unit consists generally of a supporting member, a latch for holding a club and a catch for securing and releasing said latch. The supportingl member' I6, shown separately in Fig. 6, is formed of a single piece of sheet metal cut and bent to form a T-shaped base 6, a pair of parallel flanges forming with the base a U-shaped housing, and an outwardly extending lip 2i which is curved or iiared at its outer end away from said housing. A rivet i8 secures one end of the base I5 to the ring Hl and the T-arms I9 are secured to the same by rivets 29. Between the flanges |'l is rotatably supported a latch member 23 as by a pivot 24, the latch members each having a circular recess 25 in an edge facing lip 2|, said recess being formed between ears 25 and 2l. The latch is provided with adjacent angularly disposed abutment edge 28, and 2e, which latter defines one side of ear 2l, for limiting the throw of the latch in open or closed positions respectively. The latch 23 is further provided with an angular recess 33 adapted to provide a shoulder 3i, adjacent which is a circular edge portion 32. The U-shaped housing is further adapted to inclose and provide a mounting for a snap catch member 33 rotatably secured thereto by pivot 34. The snap catch member 33 has a recess 35 in which is located a U-shaped compression spring 36, a portion of spring 35 bearing against the base of U-shaped housing Il; and the snap catch member 33 is formed with a catch point constituting a detent 31 for engaging the shoulder 3| to hold the latch in closed position. One of the clubs 38 is shown inserted in the bag, a handle portion 39 being at the bottom of the bag, a head 40 protruding from the bag, and a shank 4| extending therein.

The operation of my device should be apparent from the foregoing description, the locking units having two normal positions as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, respectively, Fig. 3 illustrating the open or unlocked position and Fig. 4 the closed or locked position. A club is inserted in the bag in the usual manner with the handle 39 at the bottorn, whereupon the shank portion 4| may be inserted in the recess` 25 and pressed against abutment 21, causing the edge 29 to be swung against the base portion of member Il, the rotation of the latch member 23 causing the shoulder 3| to be swung opposite detent 3l of catch member 33, the spring 36 holding the member 33 in its closed position, resulting in shank 4| being held securely in position against the lip 2| of member Il. When it is desired to remove the club, the catch member 33 which projects a short distance beyond the outer edges of flanges 'l can be rotated against the compression of the spring i8 manually, releasing catch point 31 from the shoulder 3l whereupon movement of the club in a direction away from the edge of the bag will swing the latch member inwardly to its open position. By this arrangement the catch 33 can be actuated by a linger or thumb of the hand grasping the club. It will thus be seen that when a number of clubs are secured in a bag in the manner described, the same are held securely against loss by accidentally dropping them from the bag and that each club will remain in its selected position, and it would be impossible for the clubs to rub against each other or against the side of the bag,V thus preventing unnecessary wear which would otherwise result. Also, the desired club may be readily and quickly released and withdrawnV by the use of one hand.

While I have shown a golf bag having four club locking units, it will be apparent that the number and arrangement are necessarily only limited by practical considerations and my invention may be utilized by having more or less than the number shown and otherwise arranged, for instance, by having some of them secured to a central supporting element within the bag.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth7 but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications 'as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A clasp adapted for we in a golf bag, said clasp comprising a support consisting of a base having a pair of spaced parallel flanges, andan outwardly extending lip on said base spaced from the adjacent ends or" said flanges, a latch pivotally mounted between said flanges and provided with a recess adjacent said lip for receiving the shank-of a club, a spring pressed catch on the base in cooperative relation to said latch for holding the latch in closed position, and a portion of said catch extending outwardly to be engaged by a portion of the hand grasping the club, substantially as described.

2. A clasp adapted for use in a golf bag, said clasp comprising a support consisting of a base having a pair of spaced parallel flanges, and an outwardly extending lip on said base spaced from the adjacent ends of said flanges, a latch pivotally mounted between said flanges and provided with a recess adjacent said lip for receiving the shank of a club, a spring pressed catch on the base in cooperative relation to said latch for holding the latch in closed position, and said latch being prol vided with angularly disposed abutment edges to limit its movement to open and closed positions, substantially as described.

3. A clasp adapted for use in a golf bag, said clasp comprising a support consisting of a base having a pair of spaced parallel flanges, and an outwardly extending lip on said base spaced from the adjacent ends of said nanges, a latch pivotally mounted between said anges and provided with a recess adjacent said lip for receiving the shank of a club, a shoulder formed on said latch, a spring pressed catch on the base to engage said shoulder to hold the latch in closed position, the edge of said catch extending outwardly to be engaged by a portion of the hand grasping the club, whereby pressure on said extended portion will release the latch, substantially as described.

4. A clasp adapted for use in a golf bag, said clasp comprising a support consisting of a T-shaped base having a pair of spaced parallel anges, and an outwardly extending lip on said base spaced from the adjacent ends of said flanges, a latch pivotally mounted between said flanges and provided with a recessadjacent said lip for receiving the shank of a club, a spring pressed catch on the base in cooperative relation to said latch for holding the latch in closed position, and a portion of said catch extending outwardly to be engaged by a portion of the hand grasping the club, substantially as described.

FERDINAND H. BORM. 

